1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fly fishing reel, more particularly to a fly fishing reel with a positioning unit for positioning a drag adjustment lever of the fly fishing reel.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional fly fishing reel that includes a casing 200, a spool 220 mounted rotatably in the casing 200, and a handle 210 connected to the spool 220 via a connecting rod 211 for winding a fishing line (not shown) on the spool 220. An arcuate plate 100 is attached to an end face 201 of the casing 200, and serves as a measuring scale for indication of the quantity of drag resistance to rotation of the spool 220. A drag adjustment lever 2 is pivoted to the connecting rod 211 so as to rotate thereabout and so as to adjust the quantity of the drag resistance to the rotation of the spool 220. A spring-biased stopper 3 extends movably out of a side edge of the casing 200 adjacent to the end face 201, and serves as an indication of an intermediate drag resistance to the rotation of the spool 220 when the drag adjustment lever 2 is moved to abut against the stopper 3. The stopper 3 releasably engages a bent end 201 of the drag adjustment lever 2 so as to stop further rotation of the drag adjustment lever 2. The stopper 3 is pressable into the casing 200 so as to permit the drag adjustment lever 2 to pass over the stopper 3. The stopper 3 can prevent undesirable movement or over-rotation of the drag adjustment lever 2. However, it is inconvenient to simultaneously press the stopper 3 and operate the drag adjustment lever 2 to pass over the stopper 3 to a desired position.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a fly fishing reel with a positioning unit that is capable of overcoming the aforementioned drawback.
According to the present invention, a fly fishing reel comprises: a casing having an outer end face; a spool mounted rotatably in the casing; an arcuate plate attached to the outer end face and formed with a plurality of angularly spaced apart retaining-holes that serve as a measuring scale representing different quantities of drag resistance to rotation of the spool; a connecting rod transverse to and extending rotatably through the outer end face at a position radially spaced apart from the arcuate plate, the connecting rod having one end connected to the spool; a handle connected to the other end of the connecting rod for turning the spool via the connecting rod; a drag adjustment lever having a pivot end pivoted to the connecting rod between the handle and the arcuate plate, and a fixed end opposite to the pivot end and extending radially from the connecting rod to confront the arcuate plate, the drag adjustment lever being rotatable about the connecting rod relative to the arcuate plate for adjusting the drag resistance to the rotation of the spool; a positioning unit including a tubular member having opposite inner and outer ends, a retaining pin disposed in the tubular member and extending axially through the inner end to selectively engage one of the retaining-holes so as to position the drag adjustment lever at a selected position relative to the arcuate plate, and an urging member connected to the retaining pin and abutting against the outer end for urging the retaining pin to move into the selected one of the retaining-holes; and a releasing unit including an actuating member extending movably through the tubular member, and a cam mechanism disposed in the tubular member and associated with the actuating member and the retaining pin in such a manner that movement of the actuating member results in movement of the retaining pin in an axial direction between an engaging position, in which, the retaining pin is urged by the urging member to extend into the selected one of the retaining-holes, and a disengaging position, in which, the retaining pin moves out of and thus disengages from the selected one of the retaining-holes, thereby permitting rotation of the drag adjustment lever relative to the arcuate plate.